Basis database
| BASIS | |
|---|---|
| Developer | OpenText (current) |
| Stable release | OpenText Collections Server
|
| Operating system |
|
| Type | Full-text database management system |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | opentext |
BASIS (Battelle's Automated Search Information System),[1] also known as BASISplus and later marketed as OpenText Collections Server, is a full-text database management system developed at the Battelle Memorial Institute in 1973 and owned by OpenText since 1998. Described at its commercialisation as "the first text-retrieval product on the market",[1] it combines full-text indexing with relational database functions and has been used in corporate, government, and library information management settings. Before reaching OpenText, the product passed through OCLC (1993–1997) and The Gores Group (1997–1998) following a 1986 spin-off from Battelle into Information Dimensions, Inc.
History
[edit]Origins at Battelle (1973–1986)
[edit]BASIS was developed at Battelle in Columbus, Ohio, beginning in 1973, to meet the document management and information retrieval needs of Battelle's research, government, and industrial clients.[1] The system used an inverted index architecture to enable fast full-text searching across large document collections, a capability not available in conventional relational databases of the period.
By the mid-1970s, BASIS was among a cohort of mini-computer text retrieval products that included INQUIRE by Infodata and, in the United Kingdom, ASSASSIN (developed at ICI) and STATUS (at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment).[2]
In 1986, Battelle commercialised the product by spinning it and its development team out into a separate entity, Information Dimensions, Inc. (IDI), headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.[1] At the time of the spin-off, BASIS was described as the first text-retrieval product on the market commercially.[1]
Information Dimensions era (1986–1993)
[edit]Under Information Dimensions, the product was substantially reworked and released as BASISplus, which merged the core full-text retrieval engine with a relational database component, adding SQL-style structured queries alongside document search.[citation needed] The expanded product suite included TECHLIBplus, a library automation application built on BASISplus and aimed at corporate and government special libraries.[3]
OCLC ownership (1993–1997)
[edit]In June 1993, the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), a non-profit library cooperative based in Dublin, Ohio, acquired Information Dimensions for its BASISplus document management technology and the TECHLIBplus library automation product, intending to expand into corporate and government library markets.[4][5]OCLC operated IDI as an independent, wholly owned for-profit subsidiary. Finding few synergies with its core cataloguing services, OCLC sold Information Dimensions to The Gores Group in July 1997.[4]
OpenText acquisition (1998–present)
[edit]Gores sold Information Dimensions to OpenText Corporation on 3 June 1998, adding approximately 170 employees to OpenText's workforce.[6] Later in 1998, OpenText released BASIS Techlib 8.2.3, which it marketed as the first completely web-based library management system.[7] OpenText subsequently consolidated the product line under a Product Technology Division responsible for Techlib, BASIS, BRS/Search, and the iRIMS records management system.[8] The product line was later rebranded as OpenText Collections Server, targeting library and archival collection management deployments.
Products
[edit]The Information Dimensions product line included:
- BASISplus: The core extended relational database engine, combining full-text retrieval with SQL-compatible structured queries.
- TECHLIBplus: A complete library automation application built on BASISplus for corporate and government special libraries.[3]
- BASIS WEBserver: Middleware that published BASIS database content as HTML pages, enabling web access to document repositories in the mid-1990s.
- BASIS SGMLserver: A component for storing and retrieving SGML-structured documents, supporting component-level document retrieval before the widespread adoption of XML.[9]
- BASIS Image Series: A compound document management extension announced in June 1991, providing hypertext links between text stored in BASISplus databases and images held on Xerox, FileNet, LaserData, Digital Equipment Corp., and Unisys image management systems.[10]
- BASIS Desktop: A client application for end-user access to BASISplus databases.
Technical features
[edit]BASISplus functions as a combined full-text and relational database engine. Key characteristics include:
- Full-text indexing via an inverted index, enabling Boolean, proximity, and weighted searching
- Integrated thesaurus support for controlled vocabulary and synonym expansion[11]
- BLOB storage for mixed-media documents
- ODBC and JDBC connectivity for third-party application integration
- Cross-platform support, initially on VAX/VMS, later extended to Unix and Windows NT
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Basis > Company Background". Library Technology Guides. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ "1970–1979: Enterprise Search Emerges". A History of Enterprise Search. University of Sheffield. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ a b "TECHLIBplus: overview of the new system from Information Dimensions". VINE. 21 (1): 18–25. 1991. doi:10.1108/eb040449.
- ^ a b Breeding, Marshall (July 2017). "Smarter Libraries Through Technology: 50 Years of Technology at OCLC". Smart Libraries Newsletter. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ "OCLC acquires Information Dimensions, Inc". Library Systems Newsletter. June 1993. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
- ^ "Open Text Acquires Information Dimensions, Inc., Creates Market Share Leader in Enterprise Document Management". OpenText. 3 June 1998. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ "Open Text introduces serials and acquisitions module of BASIS Techlib, creating the first completely Web-based library system". Library Technology Guides. 1998. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ Breeding, Marshall (1 April 2002). "Automation Marketplace 2002: Capturing the Mainstream". Library Journal. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ DuCharme, Bob. "DBMS Support of SGML Files". Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ "Information Dimensions announces Image Series". Library Systems Newsletter. Library Technology Guides. June 1991. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ "Software for building and editing thesauri". Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.